California has many administrative agencies that protect all employees and allows them to pursue claims against their employer when their legal rights are violated. These agencies are often referred to as “labor law boards”, even though there is no agency in California with such a name. These boards treat, manage, and investigate certain workplace disputes and complaints similarly to a court, and most complaints against employers are brought before these agencies. This post will take you through the major agencies in California that are involved in labor and employment disputes, and also offer resources on how you can file a claim with them.

IDENTIFYING THE RIGHT LABOR LAW BOARD TO FILE YOUR COMPLAINT

Although California has many agencies, there are two major agencies used for workplace disputes. They include:

• The Department of Fair Employment and Housing
• The Office of the Labor Commissioner

Each of these two labor law boards has a distinct process for filing claims or complaints, and the types of issues they handle are generally specific. To choose the right agency, employees need to correctly identify the best labor law board for their case and ensure it is within the jurisdiction of the agency for proper complaint procedure. This is the first step in bringing a claim against the employer.

THE CALIFORNIA LABOR COMMISSION AND THE CLAIM YOU CAN FILE WITH EACH

The California Labor Commissioner’s office works to enforce minimum labor standards in workplaces across the state. The Labor Commissioner and their deputies are appointed by the governor of the State of California and have a legal right to visit all companies in California to help the board investigate, resolve, hear all claims under its jurisdiction and enforce California labor laws. Perhaps most importantly, the Labor Commissioner has the power to give a ruling on disputes that involve wages and hour complaints. Some of these claims include:

• Unpaid wages
• Unpaid commissions
• Unpaid vacation wages
• Unpaid minimum wage
• Failure to be paid for agreed benefits
• Unpaid overtime
• Distribution of pay stubs
• Rest and Meal break violations
• Failure to pay wages on time after employment’s termination
• Unpaid split shift pay (this is necessary when two(2) different work periods are separated by more than an hour meal break)
• Unlawful deductions from a paycheck
• Un-reimbursed business operating costs
• Late payment or failure to pay final wages

To sum up, the office of the Labor Commissioner manages wages and penalty claims as well as other employees’ demands for compensation from their employer. Furthermore, the Labor Commissioner’s office can also hear certain types of whistleblower and retaliation/discrimination claims. However, they must involve claims that the employer took unfavorable employment action against the worker (or any job candidate) probably because they are involved in some protected conducts. The office of the Labor Commissioner can give a ruling some whistleblower claims, but not all types of whistleblower claims. The detail of this is beyond this post.

THE DEPARTMENT OF FAIR EMPLOYMENT AND HOUSING AND THE CLAIMS WITHIN THEIR JURISDICTION

The department of fair employment and housing may be the best place to file a complaint if an employee feels they have been discriminated against. Discrimination usually arises when some protected people or protected class are treated differently based on certain characteristics or attributes. A few instances of discrimination may include unwanted touching, jokes that are inappropriate, unjust compensation, poor working conditions, and job assignments.

The California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) offers the most protection to employees (regardless of their numbers working in a company), and eliminates discriminatory employment practices. Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, employers are prohibited from discriminating against or harassing employees, job applicants and certain groups of people on the basis of their color, race, sexual orientation, religion, ancestry, age (40 and above), medical condition, disability, harassment, sex (including pregnancy), marital status, genetic information, origin (including language constraints), military and veteran status. Any other issues that involve unfair treatment or treating an individual differently fall under their jurisdiction. Most times, retaliation usually follows discrimination and harassment.

WHAT IS RETALIATION ALL ABOUT

Retaliation arises when an employer or an agent acting on behalf of the employer react unfavorably or engages in unlawful behavior against an employee for filing a claim about some sort of discrimination/harassment or worker’s compensation, or for helping other employees in these complaints. Retaliation can also arise when an employer or an agent acting on behalf of the employer takes adverse actions against a worker for reporting unlawful behaviors by their employer – an act also known as whistle blowing.

Retaliation can come in many forms. For instance, if the employee files a claim and the employer or an agent acting on behalf of the employer then fires the employee because of the claim, then that would be retaliation. At times, the employee does not have to be fired to prove retaliation. Another instance is when an employee takes days off to look after an injury sustained in the workplace and the employer penalizes the employee, maybe through wage reduction. Under California law, this is prohibited. To prove retribution, an employee must show that:

1. The employer engaged in an unfavorable employment action, like firing the worker
2. They engaged in behavior that is protected under the California labor code (filed a worker’s compensation claim) and

• There was a connection between (i) and (ii) above.

The Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits employers or an agent acting on behalf of the employer from retaliating against employees on these grounds. When the Fair Employment and Housing Act is violated, employees have a right to file a complaint with California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (the DFEH).

DFEH Versus DLSE

The DLSE and the DFEH work in the same way in that they both have the power to look into an employee’s claims and work with the employer to resolve any unlawful or illegal activities. However, the major difference is in the types of claims that the two agencies handle.

WHO CAN FILE A CLAIM WITH THE LABOR BOARD?

Any former or current employee or job applicants can file a claim for labor law violation, in relation to any part of the labor law as established in California by the Industrial Welfare Commission. The Labor law board will not query your immigration status nor report it to other government agencies. There is also no need for a social security number or photo identification to file a report for labor law violation. If your complaint is selected for investigation, your report will be kept confidential to the maximum extent possible under the law.

WHEN TO FILE A CLAIM WITH THE LABOR BOARD

The California labor law board maintains a listing of California laws that prohibits the denial of employee’s legal rights. If you have any issues affecting your working conditions in California, or you are discriminated against and harassed or you are seeking to get your legal unpaid wages, you have the right to file a claim with the appropriate California labor law board in a timely manner. Depending on the instances, reports must be by the statutory deadline. Talk to an attorney as to when that is. If your complaint is about:

• an oral agreement, you have a deadline to file by statute to file a complaint from the violation date.
• law or regulation in place (such as a minimum wage or overtime violation), you have a statutory deadline from the date of the violation to file a complaint.
• a written agreement, you a statutory deadline from the date of the violation to file a claim

The Labor law board prioritizes and investigates wage theft and other labor law violations. If the deadline is missed, you may be able to file a private lawsuit instead of filing a complaint. You should consult with an employment attorney for more details.

HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE LABOR LAW BOARD

After correctly identifying the type of claim and the best administrative agency that can hear the case, the employee can go ahead with preparing their complaint. The employee must:

• Determine the laws that the employer violated
• Collect any information that shows the employer took action against them because they exercised their labor rights.
• File any change in their employment conditions after they have exercised their rights, such as demotion or pay reductions.
• Collect documents to evaluate their employment conditions before that moment, such as timesheets, pay stubs, personnel commendations, notes, or evaluations, or other r
• ecords.

Reporting A Claim

To report a claim, the employee can either take or mail the complaint form to the Labor law board that handles the particular claim for the employee’s city or location where the employee performed the work that led to the complaint. Whichever way, the employee should make sure to complete the following steps:

• Download and print out the claim or complaint form.
• Complete the form in its entirety and ensure you provide all information requested to the best of your knowledge to avoid delays in processing, then sign and date the form.
• Attach copies of any supporting documents to your complaints. Do not send the original copies.
• Mail the completed complaint form and the supporting documents to the Labor law board
• If you are filing a workplace health and safety complaint, you may have additional protections.

It is advisable that the employee consult an employment attorney before filing their complaints just to ensure all their facts are correct, the claim is feasible and timely, and that the justice system is respected.

DETERMINATIONS

The California labor board will conduct a thorough investigation after you file your claim. And if the determination finds your employer guilty of any labor law violations, the board will send you a written determination by mail and require your employer to comply with it within 30 days. Otherwise, the Labor law Board will file a lawsuit against your employer to enforce the demand for relief. The relief may include:

• Reinstatement to your former job position
• Interest payment on the back pay
• Payment of any wages lost for wrong suspension, demotion or employment termination
• Payment of penalties for each violation
• Removal of any reference to the negative action in your employee file
• Cease to violate your labor rights in the future

WERE YOU SERVED A NOTICE FROM THE CALIFORNIA LABOR LAW BOARDS?

If you receive any complaint through the labor law boards, you need to know your rights before an employee sues. Most business owners or employers often neglect labor laws or potential risks to their business until a lawsuit shows up. Employees that might have seemed satisfied may sometimes feel cheated and want to claim what they think they deserve. Therefore, they might sue their employer to see what they can get. The fact remains that employees have little  to lose for doing so, due to the way the system is set up. That is why an employer needs to have a clear understanding of their rights when they get a complaint from the labor law boards. Dealing with the labor law boards is hard and the entire process can be intimidating. Many variables and possibilities can make it difficult to get a good strategy for your case, but we can help you out.

CONTACT UNITED EMPLOYEES LAW GROUP FOR A FREE CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTATION

Whether you are an employee who thinks your legal rights have been violated or an employer who has received a complaint from the labor law board, the experienced team of employment attorneys at United Employees Law Group will aggressively and compassionately listen and protect your interests. We understand your request is unique and we will work to give you the best shot at a favorable outcome. Even if you do not end up hiring us, you will still have good knowledge of the next step you can take. Kindly fill the form below to schedule your free confidential consultation.

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As an employee-friendly state, California has wide-ranging regulations aimed to protect employees and to curtail employers’ excesses. One of such laws is California labor law breaks. The law provides most California employees with the legal rights to meal and lunch breaks as well as one or more mini-break periods. The reason is to enable employees re-energize and reset during their work shifts as well as to reduce safety-related incidents in many industries.

In this post, we are going to consider the California labor law breaks, California’s meal and rest period requirements, your right to breaks, limitations, and what to do if your break rights are ever violated.

WHAT ARE BREAK PERIODS?

Break periods are time set aside exclusively for employees. Under the California Labor Code Section 512, California employers are required to give their employees some minutes or hours of uninterrupted breaks. During these break periods, the law prohibits employers from encumbering employees with work activities. If an employee is still required to engage in work or work-related activities during any break periods, it shows that the employer has not relieved the employee from work duty for the particular break. Failure of an employer to give an employee adequate breaks can result in steep fines from the state.

CALIFORNIA BREAK REQUIREMENTS (NON-EXEMPT EMPLOYEES)

Generally, non-exempt employees are entitled to the following rest breaks and meal breaks for the corresponding working hours:

Fig 1.

Fig. 2

REST BREAK REQUIREMENTS (NON-EXEMPT EMPLOYEES)

The California labor law breaks provision requires that non-exempt employees should take rest breaks during their work shifts, and the employers must adhere to providing the same. Below are some requirements that come with rest breaks:

• Employers must give employees uninterrupted 10 minutes rest break for every four hours of work or fraction thereof
• Employers must relieve their employees of all duties during the rest break
• Rest breaks are work time and as such must be paid
• The break should be taken near the end of the employee’s work period.

The California labor law breaks provision applies uniformly to industries under 15 Orders, including the motion picture industry. But there is an exemption to professional actors, and personal attendants under the Household employment Order. Under all Orders, except for private household employment, the DLSE may grant an exception to the rest break law upon an employer’s application based on unjustified hardship, provided such an exception would not significantly affect the comfort and welfare of their employees.

MEAL BREAK REQUIREMENTS (NONEXEMPT EMPLOYEES)

Just like rest breaks, the California labor law Breaks provision also provides employers with some restrictions when it comes to meal breaks. Below are some requirements that come with lawful meal breaks.

• Employers must provide employees with 30 minutes uninterrupted, unpaid meal break after every 5 hours of work
• Relinquish control of the employee’s activities
• Employees must be relieved of all duties;
• Employers do not have to ensure employees take those breaks.
• Employees may decide to have their meal break onsite or leave the premise to use their break as they wish.
• Employees must take an additional meal break especially for long shifts

Employers cannot:

• Impede or discourage their workers from taking meal breaks anywhere;
• create inducement towards skipping meal breaks;
• create a culture that encourages skipping meal breaks

Although the 30-minute meal break is unpaid, employees can agree with their employer to an on-call meal break, which counts as time worked, and payable – details of this later.

 WAIVER PROVISIONS TO MEAL BREAKS

The California labor law allows the 30-minute meal period to be waived by mutual consent of both the employee and the employer, under the following circumstances:

• When an employee’s work period for a workday does not exceed six hours. In this case, neither the employer nor the employee can be forced to waive the meal break. For instance, if the employer wants to waive the meal break, but the employee does not, then the meal break can’t be waived.
• If the total number of hours worked by the employee does not exceed 12 hours, then the second meal break may be waived subject to mutual consent of the employee and the employer and employee provided that the first meal period was not waived

NOTE: Neither the California Labor law breaks provision, nor the Wage Orders require that either of these waivers be in writing. But such an agreement should be put in writing whenever possible.

ON-DUTY MEAL BREAK AGREEMENT

Generally, the California labor law restricts an employer from allowing their employees to continue working or be “on-duty” during meal breaks. Unless the employee is relieved of all work duty during the entire meal break and is free to leave the work premises, the meal break is considered “on duty.” It is legally the same as denying the workers their meal breaks, and the employer has to compensate the employee for the meal break at the worker’s regular wage.

However, some exemptions exist where an “on duty” meal break period are legally permitted. Whether or not the nature of the job prevents a worker from being relieved of all work duty can be very difficult to justify. An employee and an employer may not agree to an “on-duty” meal break except, based on objective reasons, where:

1. The employee works over six hours, and the nature of the work does not allow the employee to be relieved of all duty, e.g. a lone security guard positioned at a remote site
2. There is a written agreement between the employee and the employer, and on-the-job meal is agreed to. The written agreement must indicate that the employee may withdraw the agreement at any time.

To implement on-duty meal break, an employer should first consult a qualified employment counsel for guidance.

LIMITATIONS ON BREAKS

The California Industrial Welfare Commission (CIWC) allows employers to make their workers stay on-premise during a meal break. In this case, the meal break would be considered to be paid time. That implies that the employer must compensate the workers at their regular pay rate for the length of the break. Likewise, employers may require their workers to be onsite during rest breaks. However, the employer cannot mandate the employee to work during the rest break. Employers also have the right to logically limit the amount of time their workers take to use the restroom outside of the required breaks, and by no means should an employee extend breaks using the restroom at the end of the break.

WHAT IF EMPLOYEES ARE DENIED THEIR RIGHTFUL CALIFORNIA BREAKS?

Your California employer is not doing any favor by letting you take a rest break or meal break. They are strictly required to do so. Consider this: if an employee is eating during his meal break and the employer or his boss calls him to review or do anything work-related. If the employee puts his food aside and works even for just a minute, then the employer has just denied the employee their meal break right because the employee’s break was interrupted by work activity.

If your employer fails to provide proper breaks, whether by (i) reducing your break time (ii) preventing you from taking a break (iii) Pressuring you to work through some or all of your break period or (iv) not providing any breaks at all, then you are entitled to an additional hour of pay at your normal hourly rate. This would be for each day you did not get a proper break.

For instance, if an employer denied an employee a proper rest break and meal break, then the employer owes the employee two additional hours of pay for that day. And if the employee is denied a proper break for an entire year, say 250 workdays, then the employee may be entitled to damages equal to 250 workdays multiply by employee wage rate for the breaks employee was denied. So if an employee is making $15/hour and the employee is denied meal break, then that would be $3,750 in extra wages that the employer owed the employee.

There are technicalities and nuances to California’s labor law breaks provisions, which is why it is advised that you consult a California employment attorney if you think your employer has violated your rights.

WHAT IF EMPLOYEE SKIPS THEIR BREAK?

If the employer provides meal break to an employee, but the employee willingly and voluntarily decides to skip the meal and work during the break period or eat while working, the employer would not owe employee any additional wages or penalties. The California labor law breaks only require them to provide those break times. Whatever the employee does during the break is up to the employee. If, on the other hand, the employee is pressured to skip a break, or the employee feels they will be criticized or denied perks or advancement if they take their full breaks, or if the employee has to skip breaks to meet work deadlines, then the employer might still be penalized. You can talk to a California employee rights attorney to discuss your situation.

EXEMPTIONS TO THE CALIFORNIA LABOR LAW BREAKS

There are exceptions to the rules regarding California labor law Breaks provision. Pursuant to Labor Code sections 512 and 226.7, and Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders 11 and 12, salaried workers who work in some professions (like motion picture or broadcasting industries, commercial drivers, construction workers, private security officers, etc) and meet some minimum earning conditions are exempted from most of the labor laws that apply to non-exempt employees. Further, employees working under a collective bargaining agreement may not be subject to the rules regarding meal periods.

For an employee to be classified as exempt;

• They must have spent more than half of their time doing managerial, intellectual, and creative works.
• Their primary duties must be executive, administrative, or professional tasks.
• They must regularly make decisions and exercise independent judgment.
• They must earn a monthly salary no less than twice the California minimum wage.

Even though most exempt employees are not qualified for rest breaks, they are still entitled to meal breaks. An employment attorney can examine your particular situation further to see if you qualify for rest and meal breaks.

CALIFORNIA BREAKS PENALTIES

Break periods are counted as hours worked. For no reason should an employer deduct pay from the time taken for an authorized break period. If an employer denies their employee a proper meal or rest breaks, the employee is qualified to receive extra wages under California labor law breaks provision.

To pursue the claim, the employer can:

• Try things on their own (without a lawyer’s help) and ask their employer for those extra wages. If the employer is one of those who wants to do the right thing, then congratulations! The employee should let the employer know of the extra wages owed, and if it turns out valid, they will pay the employee in full with little hassle. But if the employer refused to pay, then the employee may have to:
• File a complaint in court;
• File a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner or DLSE
• Contact an employee rights lawyer and get help in trying to persuade the employer to pay the employee what they are owed and to help the employee decide on and apply the best alternatives if the employer refuses.

CALIFORNIA LABOR LAW BREAKS: WHAT CAN EMPLOYER DO?

Break laws can be very tricky (as they apply differently to businesses and industries), and they can create huge financial issues for businesses that fail to comply with the labor law breaks provision. It is, therefore, essential for businesses to be careful when implementing proper break policies as required by the California labor commission. With the increasing number of court cases targeting employers’ rest and meal break practices, employers are advised to carefully review the employer’s policies to be sure they are getting their proper rest and meal breaks. If you need help with employment law, contact United Employees Law Group to learn the exact employment laws apply to your business.

FINAL THOUGHT

If you have been denied your proper meal or rest break, or you think your employer is denying you the same, do not hesitate to contact the expert employment attorneys at United Employees Law Group today. With years of successful experience, we represent workers who have been denied their break periods or otherwise maltreated by their employer throughout California. Schedule an appointment with us to evaluate your case, determine the best option for your recovery, and help you implement that option. Do not forget that filing certain claims or complaints has strict deadlines. Contact United Employees Law Group today to ensure your rights are protected.

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Despite an optimistic economic outlook, California employers continue to find their foothold in an unpredictable and slippery economy. But when it comes to dealing with their employees, some employers in California are trying every way possible to save more money, particularly through a deliberate wrong classification of employees to deny them their rightful pay and options.

For some reason, employers see California labor laws to favor the employees, which is not true! The California Department of Industrial Relations (CDIR) oversees different labor laws for employees in California. The aim is to ensure that all employees who work in the state benefit from their employment contract and that they are lawfully paid for any work they rendered to their employer. With that said, there are complicated aspects in the California labor law for salaried employees that need full understanding for both employee and the employer’s rights to be preserved. In this post, we are going to examine what the California labor law says as regards salaried employees. Meanwhile, we need to understand who is a salaried employee.

SALARIED EMPLOYEE

A salaried employee (or salary employee) is a worker who receives a full pre-determined amount of money from their employer on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly as a paycheck, regardless of the number of hours they work per week. In California, salary employees are classified as either exempt or nonexempt. The word “Exempt” implies that employers do not have to abide by the overtime statute or the minimum wage when paying exempt workers. To determine whether an employee is exempt or non-exempt will depend on the kind of job the employee does, how much the employee receives, and how the employee is paid.

EXEMPT AND NON-EXEMPT SALARY EMPLOYEE

For an employee to be exempt, they must receive the same regular pay or salary every week, regardless of the amount of work they do or the number of hours they work. As at the time of writing, the minimum salary requirement for exempt salaried workers, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act is $684 per week or $35,568 per annum – an increment from the $455 per week or $23,660 per year. This increment may not have much impact on California that already has a higher salary scale. Effective from January 1, 2020, California labor law requires employers with at least 26 employees to pay $1,040 every week or $54, 080 per annum. Likewise, nonexempt workers may receive a predetermined salary, but it should be equal to the federal minimum wage or the state minimum wage, whichever one is higher. Although any worker can be compensated with a salary, only a few jobs are eligible for exemption.

Unavailability Of Work Or Business Closures

If a business closes down for some days in a full week, even for a holiday, all exempt employees should receive their full pay. The same applies if there is no work available for the employee to do. For nonexempt employees, they may only be paid for the time they actually worked.

SALARIED EMPLOYEES AND OVERTIME PAY IN CALIFORNIA

Subject to California labor law, the general employment rule is that overtime pay is due for every work that exceeds 8 hours a day and 40 hours in a week. Nevertheless, employers often tell some employees that they are not eligible for overtime pay since they are being paid a salary instead of an hourly wage. This way, the employee is made to believe that they are required to work for long hours without the right to any paid overtime. The truth is considerably more intricate. If you are employed in California, you may have the assumption that you are eligible to paid overtime if you work for extra hours. But it is the decision of the employer to prove that you are being paid enough to qualify for an exemption.

Exempt salaried employers in California do not have to receive overtime pay if they work extra hours, although nonexempt salaried workers are entitled to overtime. While almost all salary employees are nonexempt, there are exceptional cases where an employee can be nonexempt and still receive hourly pay. According to California labor law, salaried employees may be entitled to overtime pay based on some specific situations.

In a short while, we will consider the eligibility of both exempt and nonexempt salary employees as regards receiving overtime wages.

Nonexempt Salaried Workers And Overtime Pay

Non-exempt salaried workers fall under the minimum wage and overtime principles of the FLSA. Consequently, employers must be specific with the number of hours an employee is expected to work per week. According to California labor law, nonexempt salary employees are entitled to receive overtime pay of 150% (1½) times the employee’s regular pay for any hours the employee worked in excess of 8 hours in a workday, 40-hour workweek or hours worked on the seventh consecutive day worked in a workweek. This also applies to virtually all California employees.

One of the frequently asked questions is whether employers can require a nonexempt employee to work on a specific schedule and monitor their work hours. If a worker is nonexempt, employers have to keep a comprehensive time record, which must be by the clock.  Closely supervised employees such as the clerical employees, production workers, and service representatives, usually execute nonexempt works. However, an exemption is based on the actual job functions, as defined by California labor law.

Furthermore, any pre-printed time record that shows eight hours of work per day every week may not be considered as genuine. This is because employees usually work more than 8 hours every day, and the California labor commission (CLC) may regard such a time record as no record at all.

Exempt Salaried Workers and Overtime Pay

Even if a worker meets the minimum salary requirement for exempt salary workers, this only does not classify the worker as exempt from overtime pay. It is just one of the three tests that are used to decide on the exempt status of an employee. Other tests include job duties test and salary basis test. If an employee receives more than the minimum salary per year but fails at least one of the two other tests, they would still be regarded as a nonexempt worker and be paid for overtime.

Exempt workers may include unionized workers in some industries, white-collar employees and independent contractors. The California Department of Industrial Commissions (CDIC) has classified exceptions for some employees. These include the administrative, the professionals (learned, computer, creative and intellectual), outside sales exemption, and the executive. The Administrative or the executive employees may be exempted from overtime wages only if their work is primarily managerial in nature, and they must have meaningful authority to make independent decisions. Professionals whose work is mainly intellectual may also not be eligible for overtime wages. They may include lawyers, engineers, and doctors. Lastly, outside sales reps and some computer professionals can be exempted too.

One thing is sure; not all salaried employees are exempt from being paid overtime. If you are nonexempt, you may receive overtime wages for any extra hour you work other than what is in your employment contract. California law on overtime pay can generally be confusing. If you think you have been wrongly denied overtime pay, a reliable employment law attorney from United Employees Law Group would be glad to help you establish your rights and options.

OVERTIME PAY CALCULATION

When calculating overtime pay for a salaried employee, divide the annual salary of the employee by 52 weeks to get the weekly salary. After that, divide the weekly payment by the number of hours that salary is based on per week to get the standard hourly rate. Multiply the hourly rate by 1.5 to get the overtime pay.

REST AND LUNCH BREAK FOR SALARIED EMPLOYEES

Subject to the California Labor Commission, the exempt salaried workers are excluded from California’s lunch and rest break laws. However, nonexempt salary workers are eligible for at least 10 minutes uninterrupted, unpaid rest break for every 4-hour work shift. They are also entitled to lunch break of at least 30 minutes following every 5-hour work shift.

CALIFORNIA LAW ON SALARY REDUCTION

According to California labor law for salary employees, employers are not permitted to reduce the salary of an exempt worker even if they only work fewer hours than the normal time. Once an exempt employee does any work on a particular day, they are entitled to payment for the entire day. Employers may, however, deduct for missed work, if the worker misses an entire day for personal reasons or take sick leave after exhausting all their sick leave permissions. Employers are allowed to create a policy that demands their employee to use any available vacation time if there is inadequate sick leave to cover an absence. Conversely, when employers furlough exempt workers for business purposes, they must pay their full salary except if the leave lasts a whole week.

PAY DEDUCTIONS FROM SALARIED EMPLOYEES

Apart from the few exemptions that are related to the public sector employees, the California labor law does not require any employer to deduct pay from an employee’s salary for missing partial days, such as arriving late or leaving work early, or due to a personal appointment or sickness. Generally, an employer cannot dock the pay of a salaried employee as a disciplinary measure and/or as penalties for safety violations. An employer’s deduction of less than one day is not permitted. However, there are instances where an employer can deduct pay, such as when a salaried worker misses a full workday for personal reasons other than being injured or sick. Likewise, an employer may deduct pay from salaried workers if they take a day(s) off under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

NOTE: If an exempt employee is absent from work due to a disability or sickness and the employer already has benefits plan in place, the California labor law does not require the employer to pay for those days the employee is away even if the employee does not get the compensation plans. Likewise, to take these pay deductions, the employer needs to maintain a good plan that provides compensation for non-work related accidents or injuries. For more information on salaried employee rights in California, you can consult a reputable employment attorney.

WORKING ON A DAY OFF

The California labor commission does not require that an employer should pay exempt salary workers for resuming early, working late, working on weekends, or for working on their off day. Employers may certainly decide to pay these workers for extra work(s) done, but it is strictly not compulsory unless extra pay for such situations is already included in the employee’s job contract.

MINIMUM WAGES

Subject to the California labor law, exempt salaried employees should be paid at least monthly at no less than twice the minimum hourly rate. The majority of other employees should receive pay at no less than twice a month and at least the state’s minimum hourly wage.

HOW DO I KNOW IF A SALARY POSITION IS RIGHT FOR ME

In a simple, clear statement, a salaried job position may be ideal for you if you appreciate the security offered by regular pay. But if you detest the idea of working extra hours without any extra pay, then you might prefer an hourly-paid job.

THE CALIFORNIA LAW ABOUT EMPLOYER’S RETALIATION

Subject to the California labor law, businesses face great penalties should they decide to strike back at salaried employees who pursue their lawful wages and other compensations. Employers cannot demote, terminate or otherwise harass workers for seeking their fair pay. To protect employees, the California labor law provides for damages and injunctive relief ordering the employer to refrain from prohibited behavior by monitoring the employer’s conduct and interests.

CONTACT US

If you think that you have been wrongly classified as an exempt worker and are deprived of the wages you are legally entitled to, do not hesitate to contact United Employees Law Group. Our employment labor lawyer will be glad to appraise your claim and help you decide on how to proceed. They will work to ensure that you are informed of your rights and that you are offered the qualified legal help and representation you deserve. For a free legal evaluation, do not hesitate to contact us.

Reference

• https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_overtimeexemptions.htm
• https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_overtime.htm
• https://www.dwt.com/blogs/employment-labor-and-benefits/2019/09/new-fisa-salary-requirement

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The moment the holiday is around the corner, there is probably confusion between employees and employers in California. The reason is that some employers offer their employees holiday pay while others do not. This same confusion is expressed about whether or not vacation time and personal days are required, and if an employee is required to work on a specific day. Before we proceed any further on the subject matter, we must understand what holiday means in the first place.

WHAT IS A HOLIDAY?

The term “holiday” can mean different things to different people at various locations. It could mean vacation time or legal holidays on the calendar. But in this context, we would define holiday as any of the holidays listed in the California Government Code. These may include the following in no particular order:

• Christmas Day
• New Year’s Day
• Birthday remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr
• Memorial Day
• Washington’s Birthday
• Independence Day (4th of July)
• Columbus Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Veterans Day

While most employers in California observe and pay for at least three of these holidays every year, the tradition has left several businesses in the dark as to whether holiday pay is just a preference or a requirement.

HOLIDAY PAY

Holiday pay is usually a bonus or benefit offered by employers to recruit and retain the best workers. In this competitive business environment, employers that offer the most generous holiday pay package will mostly win the talent war.

CALIFORNIA LABOR LAW HOLIDAY PAY

On different occasions, California’s legislature has proposed bills that would require individual businesses to pay their employees for working on holidays. However, none of these bills has become law. Presently, the California labor law does not require employers to provide its employees with holiday pay when they are not working or that an employee is given the day off for any particular holiday.

Besides, employers are not even required to close their business on any holiday. If a business does, the employer is not mandated to pay its employees for their lost hours. However, if the workplace is opened, employers are not required to compensate those who work on holiday at a higher rate or premium pay other than the wages they usually receive. This also applies to night shifts and weekends (Saturday and Sundays).

Generally, an employer controls how to account for holidays. Hours worked on holidays are treated just like every other day of the week. But an employer may decide to compensate employees with extra pay for the work done during the holidays. It is, therefore, important for an employer to communicate their holiday policies clearly in their employee handbook.

What Should Be Included In The Holiday Policy?

A holiday policy may include, but not restricted to:

• The days you approved as holidays
• The list of specific days approved as paid holidays
• Employee’s eligibility requirements for a holiday, like if the worker must work a day prior to and/or following the holiday to receive holiday pay, or whether they get holiday pay whilst on an unpaid absence leave
• A statement indicating that holidays do not accumulate and are not paid out when the employment contract is terminated
• A statement indicating that workers that are not in employment at the time of the holiday do not receive holiday pay

Any business that offers holiday pays should also provide detailed guidance in its policy regarding how nonexempt workers will get holiday pay provided they work on a paid holiday. If an employer forces a policy requiring workers to work the day prior to and/or following the holiday to receive holiday pay, the employer must not deny their employees from receiving holiday pay in cases where the employee was absent for a cause protected by the California labor.

What about Fixed Holidays: Any holiday pay?

Fixed holidays, like July 4, Thanksgiving Day and New Year’s day, are not regarded as holidays and do not need to be paid separately. However, floating holidays or personal days that are not attached to any specific day can be treated as vacation, subject to the same rule.

Guidelines for Nonexempt employee

Even though businesses are not required to pay employees during holidays, shutting down the workplace can still result in employers paying workers for the day the workplace is closed, regardless of whether or not the employer offers holiday pays. This mostly pertains to nonexempt works. Businesses are mandated to pay nonexempt workers only for hours they actually work. In a situation where an employer did not offer paid holidays and shut down their worksite for a holiday, and a nonexempt worker does not work on that day, then the employer need not pay the nonexempt worker.

Guidelines for Exempt employees about holiday pay

In a situation where an employer closes down business for the holiday, but an exempt employee is available to work during the holiday, the employer must pay the exempt employee their full salary for the work performed during the workweek without deduction for the holiday. In most situations, a designated “holiday” does not affect exempt employees. Furthermore, exempt employees must be paid if they are ready and able to work, but no work is available, such as on a holiday when the company closes down.

Vacations and Personal Days

Except an employer is required to schedule a day off in every seven days for an employee, there is no legal requirement to allow vacation or personal days. This implies that businesses do not need to allow employees on those days, let alone pay for them. Furthermore, vacation policies are not allowed in California, but an employer can place a limit on vacation buildup. The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) has given some guidance on how the cap should be formulated. While the DLSE earlier declared a restriction on accrual to be at least 1.75 times the yearly accrual rate, it has since backed off this rule. Instead, the DLSE simply states that the limit must be “reasonable.” Whether the employee is laid off or resigned, the California labor laws on holiday pay require that the employer must pay an employee’s accrued vacation. If the employer fails to pay the employee within the timeframe, he should be ready to face the penalties.

Religious Holidays

If an employee requests for time off because their religion does not allow working on a particular day, then the employer cannot enforce such an employee to work. This is subject to if reasonable provisions are made, like getting the employee to swap with another employee or if the work can be completed another time. To accommodate workers, many businesses in California provide a floating holiday besides the usually scheduled holidays. This is to allow workers to take time off for their religious rites that are not covered in the company’s holiday policies. The California labor law does not permit employers to penalize their employees provided the employee has notified the employer in advance, and the absence does not create unnecessary problems or hardship for their business. Employers require that any such floating holiday must be used in the same year they are approved and should not be accrued into the following year.

What about sick pay?

In California, sick pay is not considered holiday time and is not subjected to California labor laws on holiday pay. If a company has a separate sick leave policy, sick pays should not be paid out when an employee resigned or is fired from the company. If an employee calls out sick, California labor law protects the worker and prevents the employer from penalizing or otherwise denying the leave. If the employee has accumulated paid sick days and is using them because they or an eligible family member is ill, then an employer cannot act against the employee in the form of suspension, employment termination or any other manner of discrimination.

What if the payday coincides with a holiday?

If a business’s payday day falls on the day employer is closed for a particular holiday listed in the California Government Code. The business can make a payment on the next business day. Of course, paying the day prior to the holiday is also acceptable.

Why Do Some Employees Get Paid

California state does not create any state law that makes holiday pay compulsory. However, individual businesses can decide to offer vacation pay, paid personal days and holiday pay, among others. Most employees do this because they found it to make their employees happier, which boosts the quality of employees and their works.

Can An Employer Attach Conditions To Employee Receiving Holiday Pay?

Absolutely! An employer may demand that workers work on the day prior to the holiday and/or following the holiday to be eligible for the holiday pay. They may also require that a worker must have worked for a particular period to be entitled to holiday pay. Furthermore, businesses in California may decide on the amount of holiday pay due to a temporary worker. No matter the condition applied, everything should be in black and white, preferably in the employee handbook.

Variation Within A Company As Regards Receiving Holiday Pay

The employer determines who and when to receive some work benefits, provided the basis for the different treatment is not prejudiced. This variation can happen based on the employee’s bargaining power. For businesses that offer holiday pay and other paid day off, compensations are usually given to full-time workers. Of course, part-time workers may be entitled to some places; it is often not the case. It is on rare occasions that temporary workers will receive any benefits, not to talk of time off with pay.

Is Holiday pay negotiable?

Holiday pay or paid day off can be considered negotiable in some cases. As an entry-level employee or someone who is paid hourly, particularly in workplaces with many workers, there are chances the holiday pay policy will remain sacrosanct. But if you are a salaried employee, you may be able to bargain holiday pays as part of your contract before you sign the employment contract. The only condition is it must be agreed upon (with backing documents) before signing. You will lose your bargaining power the moment the employment contract is signed, and you won’t have another unless there is time to renegotiate.

How Do I Know the amount that I Will Receive

When you are offered an employment position, you must ask about every benefit that is attached to the post. Since you would not accept a job position without knowing the about you will be paid, make sure you inquire about what their policy is regarding holidays, holiday pay and other time off. Be free to ask and let the answers be part of what you are going to consider before accepting a job position. Note that once you signed the employment contract paperwork, there is no way you can request a policy change.

Summary

Whether or not to pay for a holiday depends on the employer’s policies. It may appear like an unjust system that some workers get holiday pays while others do not. You need to understand that you have the power to decide whether to accept any job position or reject the offer if you are not pleased with their terms. If a California employer offers benefits or compensations, like holiday pay and even paid personal days, note that they are only doing that for personal reasons. And if a business is not offering any of these benefits, it is ideally within their legal rights, and no one can hold them accountable. Therefore, do not believe that because you get holiday pay at one workplace that you will also receive at your next place of employment. The most crucial factor here is that you ask and be ready to either accept their terms or look somewhere else. Ultimately, the choice is in your hands as an employee.

Conclusion

California labor laws handle wage issues very seriously. If it seems you have been unfairly denied holiday pay or perhaps you have other wage issues, you may need to consult an attorney. For a free legal evaluation, do not hesitate to contact United Employees Law Group.

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California labor law is undisputedly referred to as one of the most stringent employment laws in the United States. it is because it aims to ensure that all employees who live or work in the state benefits from the employment contract and that they are compensated for the work they have rendered to their employer. Nevertheless, there are complex components in the California labor law that needs full understanding for both employee and the employer’s rights to be preserved. In this post, we are going to consider the California labor laws on termination as well as the labor codes that are relevant to the same.

CALIFORNIA LABOR LAWS ON TERMINATION

New California labor laws are usually introduced from time to time. While some of these employment laws break new ground, most of them are extensions or amendments of the existing legislation.

Whether for a lawful reason or no reason at all, the employer or the employee may terminate an employment relationship at any time – that is the general rule in California. The majority of employees do not work with an express contract of employment (verbal or written) and are instead considered “at-will employment.” Under this doctrine and without any fear of consequences, employers have the right to hire and terminate an employee anytime they wish without the burden of presenting their reasons for such termination. Likewise, the employees may leave their posts in a company anytime they want.

Even though the law appears to favor an employer at the time of termination, there are different situations in which a termination without any clear and formal basis is considered illegal and could perhaps lead to a lawsuit. As long as there was an agreement either spoken or implied of discharge only for just cause, the employer/employee relationship is not “at-will”.

Under the California labor law, the “at-will” employment scheme only applies to those who have not engaged in an oral or written agreement stating that an employee cannot be terminated without any fair basis. If there is a need for termination, the employer needs to first, provide reasons for such an act. Any failure to follow this procedure can give his terminated employee a ground for filing a breach of contract lawsuit against him.

WRONGFUL TERMINATION

It is definitely illegal for employers to terminate workers if they are performing well on their jobs and following all the company policies. However, many employers still violate this law provision in many instances, such as:

• Termination based on age, nationality, sex, religious affiliation or disability
• Termination in retaliation for various actions and demands made by the worker, such as wage complaints, workplace safety grievances, whistleblowing actions, etc.

SOME RELEVANT CALIFORNIA LABOR LAWS ON TERMINATION

• Holiday Pay

Under California labor laws, no employer is required to provide holiday time to its employees. But if the employer and the employee agreed-upon holiday time at the beginning of employment, the employer is legally bound to abide by the agreement. Holiday time in California is considered earned wages, meaning that it is accrued throughout employment. Hence, any holiday time accrued is carried over to the following year or is paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay. For instance, if an employee is promised ten vacation days in their first year of employment, each month of work earns him about .83 days of vacations, all of which are compensable at any time, including situations where the employee resigns or are fired. The only exception to this law is in the case of a probation employment period, which an employer may impose with the prior consent of the employee. In such a case, the employee may have to wait for a predetermined period before becoming eligible for benefits and compensation for said benefits.

• California labor law on Minimum Wages

As at the time of writing, the minimum wage in California is $13.00 an hour. No agreement can be reached between a California employee and their employers that will make the employee get less than this for every hour they spend on the clock. However, there are exemptions for some types of workers, like those involved in managerial or intellectual work.

Under the California labor laws for salaried employees, salaried workers can be either exempt or non-exempt. Non-exempt salaried employees are eligible for overtime. Exempt salaried employees may not be eligible for overtime, but the employers have to pay salaried exempt employees twice the minimum hourly wage based on a 40-hour workweek.

Furthermore, there is no distinction between adults and minors concerning the minimum wage. Any employee who has not been paid accordingly is often entitled to back wages. A California attorney can help here. They will ensure your complaints are correctly filed with the California labor complaint board and then guide you through the entire process.

• California Labor Laws Lunch Breaks

Under the California labor law breaks, non-exempt employees must receive thirty minutes of lunch or break if they work more than five hours per day. Employees who work more than ten hours in a day are entitled to another 30 minutes meal break. If you are denied lunch breaks at the appropriate times, the California labor laws break requires you to collect penalties of 2-hours’ pay for each of the days you were not given a rest break and proper meals.

• California Final Paycheck Law

If your employment is terminated, you are entitled to be paid your last check that same day. And if you resign, your employer has about 72 hours to pay your final check.

• California Overtime Law

Under the California labor law, non-exempt workers must be paid 1.5x their regular wages or if they work more than 8 hours per day (or 40 per week) and 2x their regular wages if they work further than 12 hours per day. Similarly, there are other situations where the employees qualified for overtime pay in California.

• California Exempt Employee Law

By default, the California labor code gives all employees a right to overtime and minimum wage, but some types of salaried employees are exempted.

• California Independent Contractor Law

Employers sometimes misclassify workers as “independent contractors” rather than “employees”. This erroneous categorization can prevent employees from receiving full rights under California law. Employees can pull through labor code penalties up to $25,000 per breach if they are misclassified.

CALIFORNIA LABOR CODE

Also referred to as the labor code, the California Labor Code is a collection of civil law acts for the California state. It was developed to promote the welfare of wage earners, boost their working conditions, and to enhance their opportunities for profitable employment.

The California labor code is dedicated to labor laws. Some California labor laws are biding on an employer about their present employee, and those who resigned or their employment contract is terminated. These laws are aimed to ensure total compliance with existing California labor and employment law and to keep both the employer and the employee in check. Here are some:

• California labor code 201

Whether an employer chooses to fire an employee for poor performance or an employee decides to quit for a better job offer, the labor code section 201 requires that the employer must immediately pay the employee all the wages earned and unpaid at the time of resignation or contract termination. The law does not define when and why an employee is “fired.”

What happens if an employer fails to pay on time? If employers fail to follow the California requirements and make immediate payment of the employee’s final wages, it may result in considerable monetary penalties against the employer.

• California labor code 203

The California labor code section 203 allows a worker who is not paid all wages due at the time of termination, or within 72 hours of their resignation to request for additional monetary penalties for willful late payments. The law states that if an employer deliberately fails to pay any wages of a worker who quits or is fired, the employee’s wages will continue as a penalty right from the payable date and at the same rate until settled. However, the wages shall not extend beyond 30 days. For instance, if a worker usually earned $20 per hour and worked for 8 hours per day, the employer’s penalty would max out at $4800 if they failed to pay in time. If the non-payment of the earned wages is determined to be deliberate, an employer could face serious monetary penalties, even up to thirty times the initial amount due!

• California labor code 204

For employees who receive wages bi-monthly, the California Labor Code section 204 requires employers to issue wages at most ten calendar days following the closure of the payroll period.  Employees that are paid every two weeks must receive their earned wages within seven days of closing their payroll periods. Any payment after that is an indication that the employer is violating Labor Code section 204.

• California Labor Code 221

The labor law code states that it shall be illegal for any employer to receive or collect any part of the wages paid to an employee.

• California Labor Code 512

Lunch breaks must not be interrupted. Employers cannot call for an employee to perform any task during their lunch breaks and likewise, employers cannot discourage an employee from having one. So the state law requires California employers to allow employees to have rest during their workday. It also prevents employers from keeping their employees working for too long without a break. However, the employee may agree with the employer to waive the lunch break if the worker’s shift is below 6 hours. So the California labor law requires the said employer to give the said employees the right to an unpaid meal lunch during their shift. If, however, the employers violate the labor code, they can be liable for penalties and back pay.

• California labor code 1102.5

This state law forbids the employer from retaliating against an employee because they believe that the employee has disclosed or may disclose information regarding them to a superior in the employer’s organization, law enforcement agency or to a government, provided the employee has reasonable cause to think that the information discloses violates the law or regulation.

• California labor code 2870

This state code requires that no inventions of an employee should be assigned to an employer, provided they are entirely developed on the employee’s personal time and if they are done without using any of the employer’s supplies, equipment, trade secret information or facilities of the employer.

• California labor code 1198.5

The California Labor Code 1198.5 requires that every former and present employee or their spokesperson has the right to examine and receive a copy of their personnel records. The request must be made in writing, and the employers must abide by the request no later than 30 days from the day such a written request is received.

FILING A WRONGFUL TERMINATION CLAIM

An employee who has been wrongfully terminated has the right to file a claim at the California labor complaint office of the California labor commission against his employer with the aid of a qualified termination claim attorney. In the process, they have to present various evidence in form of documents and oral testimonies that will support his claim that he is truly terminated without any good basis, for him to have a better chance of recovery.

If the employee wins his case, the California Labor Commissioner’s Office will ensure you are duly paid through robust enforcement of labor laws. You may get the following damages from his employer:

• fringe settlement
• reimbursement of income lost
• payment for emotional misery

Aside from these, the court may oblige the employer to reinstate the employee to his former position or any post with similar compensation, benefits, and duty. A more serious legal punishment may be implemented if the employer fails to provide these damages and reinstate his employee.

WHAT CAN YOU DO AS AN EMPLOYER TO PROMOTE A HEALTHY WORKPLACE?

Get the California labor law posters. California employers are required to prominently display nine (9) mandatory federal and state labor law posters in easily accessible places. This is aimed to advise employees about their rights in the workplace. California labor law changes regularly, so it is your responsibility as an employer to ensure the posters are up-to-date.

FINAL THOUGHT

Most job-related actions by businesses towards their employees are not deliberately prejudiced, spiteful, or biased by nature. But the complexity of the law demands that employers be extremely careful when dealing with their employees or making employment decisions. In many cases, these actions are used against them in an employment lawsuit. As a reminder, California employers need to understand that California labor laws are different from Federal laws in different ways, so check with your legal counsel before making any debatable act or employment decision.

Do you need a California employment attorney to help with employment termination issues? United Employees Law Group has more information on California labor laws and can connect you with a California labor termination attorney who can help if you think you are laid off unjustly and owed back wages for unpaid minimum wage, overtime, or vacation time.

REFERENCES

• https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&division=2.&title=&part=1.&chapter=1.&article=1.
• https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1198.5
• dir.ca.gov
• https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_WaitingTimePenalty.htm
• https://www.neildymott.com/discharged
• https://www.dir.ca.gov/wpnodb.html

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Generally speaking, when a wrongful demotion happens to an employee, it was retaliation for something he or she did. If you’ve been involved in a wrongful demotion and you’re wondering if you can do anything about it legally, you’ll want to continue reading below!

Employed At-Will

Most of the employees in the USA are employed at will. This really just means that at any time you can be demoted from your position.

If your employer thinks that your performance is sub-par or that your performance is lacking in any way – they have the right to demote you, give you less pay, or even reduce the amount of time you are receiving for your job.

Is Anyone Safe From Demotions?

While most of the jobs in the US are “at will” there are a few instances where the employee is, in fact, semi-safe from demotions. This includes:

• People that are contracted: When a person has a contract through a business they might be protected from a demotion. And if they are demoted they can appeal it.

• People that were discriminated against: If you were demoted, not because you were doing a bad job, but because of your genetic information, religion, race, gender or age, you cannot be demoted legally.

• People that filed a sexual harassment claim: Likewise if you were involved in a sexual harassment claim (you were the one that filed it) you cannot be demoted. If you were, you can fight it!

You also cannot be demoted if you previously informed authorities of illegal activities going on in the workplace. That includes whistleblowers.

How To Handle A Wrongful Demotion

Even if you aren’t pegged into one of the aforementioned categories above, but you do think that you were demoted wrongfully or treated unfairly, you can contact HR. When speaking to HR, you’ll want to follow these tips:

• Don’t be defensive, rude or immature.

• If the company does have a formal appeal process – ask HR to see your demotion and why it happened.

• You can also consider writing an appeal letter and ask that your demotion be reconsidered. If you have any previous positive experiences or documentation ie; performance reviews, accomplishments in the company, emails from your manager that showed positive praise, etc include these in your appeal letter.

Hiring A Lawyer For Wrongful Demotion

If you truly believe that you were demoted wrongfully and/or you wrote your appeal and it was denied, you can seek legal action. Or if HR was of no help or not willing to help, you can seek out a lawyer that specifically deals with wrongful demotions.

When you hire a lawyer for the alleged wrongful demotion, they will investigate the matter and figure out if it was done legally or illegally and if the case is valid to continue on with – or not.

Chances are when you hire a lawyer, they will talk to other people in your office to see if they have had any issues with the company. Sometimes you might have a handful of employees that had the same thing happen to them, but they simply chose to not move forward with a lawyer. If a lawyer can talk to them, it’s even more proof that what you are going through is a legitimate issue in the company that should be investigated further.

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Most employees are incredibly grateful for their job and the ability to pay their bills on time. But, when it comes to California employee benefits are you sure that you are being treated fairly?

If you aren’t sure, you should continue reading the article below where we will be talking about the different employee benefits that you should be concerned you are getting.

Getting Minimum Wage

This is always a tricky topic because most people just assume that wherever they work they are entitled to a specific dollar amount for minimum wage. This is true.

But, did you also know that if your particular state, in this case, California, also has its own minimum wage laws, that as an employee you are entitled to whichever is the higher wage?

In the state of California, right now in 2019, the minimum wage is:

• For less than 25 employees $11.00
• For more than 26 employees $12.00

The Federal Minimum Wage is only $7.25 So if you are not receiving one of the aforementioned wages, but are instead receiving Federal Wages, this is something you need to look into as soon as possible because you aren’t receiving the wages you should be!

There are, of course, exceptions. Usually, these exceptions are for people that earn tips and earn more than $30 worth of tips in a single month. Instead of being paid a state or federal wage, they are paid a lower wage and can keep their tips.

Overtime Hours At Your Job

According to the California employee benefits, there are no limits in terms of hours a person can work each week. However, because 40 hours is the set standard of work hours in a week, any time worked over 40 hours will require overtime.

Overtime at your job will be defined as being at least 1.5 times what you usually make per hour at your job.

Also, if you work on the weekends or on holidays, the law states that you are not required to receive overtime unless you worked more than 40 hours in that same week.

Leave Time

The California employee benefits laws state that you are allowed to have leave time from your job.

In all, employees are eligible and able to take up to 12 weeks off per year – unpaid thanks to the FMLA. To top it all off, the FMLA also requires that employees be given an extra 26 weeks off to take care of a spouse, child or even a parent if they have had a serious injury or ailment or if they are a serviceman or servicewoman in the military.

There are stipulations to this.

• The employer must have at least 50 employees
• You have worked at your job for 12 months
• You have worked at least 1,250 hours at your job

California has its own sets of laws too which include:

• Caring for a sick loved one
• Recovering from childbirth
• Disability leave
• Bereavement leave

The state of California has some of the most generous leave time laws in the entire country. While the 4 examples mentioned above are pretty extreme, you can also have leave time for other situations such as needing time off to attend a child’s school activity.

There may be more stipulations depending on if your job belongs to a union or not.

Most employers will take it upon themselves to create their own employment terms, and although they do have to follow specific laws such as the ones above, the real point to all of this is to create proper humane working conditions while still allowing the employee to earn a wage that they can live off of.

If you think you’ve been discriminated against, or you think your employer is breaking one of the laws or regulations above, it’s a good idea to speak to a lawyer about your legal rights and California employee benefits.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock Billion Photos/Olesia Bilkei

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In Trump’s bid to fulfill one of his major campaign promises, his administration empowered the federal immigrant system, such that the Congress is authorized to legislate for or against the entry and residency of people in the country. Moreover, the President is empowered to utilize the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in order to oversee immigrant employees in the workplace as well. Employers thus have the obligation of protecting their employees in the event of a workplace raid by the ICE through California’s “Immigrant Worker Protection Act.”

What Does This Act Do?

Generally, California’s “Immigrant Worker Protection Act” protects employees from the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The law imposes three major requirements:

1. Workplace Entry Consent

Employers may not permit immigration agents to enter into the non-public areas of the workplace. They will be allowed only if they provide a judicial warrant. The employer could allow an immigration agent into the non-public area in order to determine whether the agent has the warrant if none of the employees are present. However, the employer will not permit the agent to undertake a search on the area.

Any employer that violates this part will have to a pay a fine of $2 000 to $5 000 for the initial offense and $5 000 to $10 000 for the subsequent offenses unless the court found that the agent entered the non-public area without the consent of the employer.

2. Employee’s Records Reviewing

The employer may not permit the immigration officer to have access to the employee records unless the officer provides a judicial warrant or a subpoena. However, this provision does not apply to Form I-9, the document provided by the employee to the employer as a proof of identity and authorization of working in the US. Similar penalty as above is attached.

3. Form I-9 Inspection

Provided the employer received a notice of inspection from the federal government, the employer must inform the employee of the notice with a copy of the notice within 72 hours using the usual workplace communication medium. After all, the California Labor Commissioner has a template developed for this purpose.

After the employer has received the results of the inspection, the employer is given 72 hours to forward the results to the Commissioner. The same penalty is also attached.

Conclusion

Since this is a new law, many employers may get stocked in the middle of the controversy between the state and federal government laws. Therefore, it is imperative that employers seek legal advice from an experienced lawyer in California so as to know how to exploit the immigration protection law to stay ahead of the game when the ICE agents step up their crackdown.

Photo Credit: cgstock / Shutterstock.com

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California has long has a reputation of one of the states that has most protective of employee rights, and all businesses in California or employing California resident must be aware of the laws governing overtime pay. All time during which an employee is “under the control of the employer,” including daily work duties, closing duties, uniform changes, and other job-related tasks is to be compensated at the full hourly rate. As a California employee, it is important to know your rights and laws.

California law requires not only that employees pay 1.5 times your standard hourly rate after 40 hours in a week as mandated by federal law, but also after 8 hours in a single day and on the 7th consecutive day of work and beyond. Employers must also pay double the standard hourly rate after 12 working hours in a single 24 hour period, after 8 hours on a 7th consecutive day of work, and under other circumstances such as state and national holidays. Employees on “standby” or “on call” status must also be paid for their commitment whether they are called to active duty or not.

State law provides very clear outlines of how workers are to be compensated for their time as well as a very specific set of exemptions. The major exempted classes are Executive, Administrative, Professional and Computer Professional categories, and in the view of the law these classes of employee are paid a salary for completing their job duties as opposed to an hourly rate for their time.

Exempted employees are not covered by the standard California overtime pay law, and must meet a number of requirements in order to become exempt. An Executive Exemption is only triggered when an employee both makes at least $640 weekly and meets certain requirements on level of authority within the company.

Administrative exemptions are commonly limited to the supporting fields of companies such as human resources, finance and legal departments, and even within these areas an employee must hold influence on significant matters before becoming ineligible for overtime, making this one of the most difficult exemptions to prove.

The Professional exemption only applies to employees holding advanced degrees, recognized merit in directly creative artistic pursuits, or licensure by the State of California to practice in a field such as law, engineering or accounting. This exemption also requires that an employee have a broad measure of control over day to day duties as well as a high level of operating freedom.

California is well-known for its high-tech culture, and the design of the Computer Professional exemption reflects this. Only computer programmers who play a central role in design and analysis of software are exempt from the overtime law, with most technicians who spend 50 percent or more of their time writing code for specific tasks entitled to overtime pay under California state law.

The California state overtime law is intended to limit abuses of employee freedom by companies, outlining acceptable compensation and time-tracking to protect their rights. Exemptions from this protection are extremely limited, and the burden of proving the validity of an exemption always falls on the employer.

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The laws in California are clearly stated on what can and cannot be put into consideration as employments discrimination. There are certain groups of people that are considered as vulnerable to employment discrimination in California. The protected classes include those that can be discriminated on the basis of:

• Religion
• Marital Status
• Sexual identity and Orientation
• Disability
• Citizenship status
• Age
• Race
• Political orientation
• National Origin and
• HIV status.

For this reason, the federal laws and the state laws are protective of the individuals who fall under these categories of protected classes.

The Law

The Fair Employment and Housing Act is a key player in the labor laws that protect against employment discrimination in California. In addition to this, several federal laws are applicable in favor of the laborers in California. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Americans with Disability Act are some of the federal laws that protect against employment discrimination. Although the federal laws are favorable to all, the Fair Employment and Housing Act in California gives employees more leverage when it comes to getting justice for violations of their rights. For example, under the federal laws, one gets only 180 days to file a case in the event of discrimination while the state laws allow a time of up to 1 year for an employee to file a court case.

What to do when you face Employment Discrimination in California

It is important to fight for your rights, and it is even better when you have professionals on your side. If you experience discrimination at work such as wage violation, unfair dismissals or discrimination because of being a member of a protected class, employment attorneys are there to come to your aid.

United Employees Law Group, is your right-hand companion when it comes to battling employment discrimination in California. You can be sure that when you have the gurus on your side, justice will be served. Through a simple phone call or email, it is possible to get legal representation when filing your case in court. The best part is that consultation is free. With vast experience in the field of labor laws, results are assured, and you will get the very best legal representation there is.

United Employees Law Group ensures that the law is enforced with due diligence so that every employee in California should be accorded the fairness and respect they deserve.

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